Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
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By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] HURLEY — As a result of an April 2 election, four new members of the Iron County Board of Supervisors took their oath of office on Tuesday afternoon. New leadership also was elected. The new members are Mario Loreti of District 2, Hurley Ward 2; Roxanne Lutgen of District 13, Mercer Ward 3; Doug Swartz of District 7, Kimball; and Paul Mullard of District 1, Hurley, Ward 1. A fifth new member — Rick Boes of District 11, Mercer Ward 1 — also was elected but was absent on a preplanned vacation. He filled the...
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By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] IRONWOOD - The Ironwood Carnegie Library is planning for a new future after receiving a $750,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. The library had applied for a $2.5 million grant in 2023, according to library director Lynne Wiercinski, with plans to add approximately 5,000 square feet to the library. The state received far more applications than it had planned, said Wiercinski, resulting in more grants being distributed...
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By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] IRONWOOD - A launch party for the fourth annual Emberlight Festival, which will run for eight weeks this summer, took place Saturday night at Theatre North in Ironwood. It was an opportunity for festival co-founders Miles Mykkanen and Cindy Franck - who are also the creative director and artistic producer, respectively - to announce the new season's lineup of entertainment while also kicking off a fundraising raffle. "It's a little insane to me that we...
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] HURLEY – The Hurley School Board agreed Monday to hire Jackie Franzoi as a school counselor beginning for the 2024-2025 school year. Her hire means the district will now have two school counselors. Franzoi will work with grades 6-12, while current K-12 counselor Sarah Eder will focus on K-5 beginning in the fall. Franzoi, a Hurley High School graduate, comes from a school counselor position at the Winter School District. The board meeting began w...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — Members of the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners voted April 10 to undertake discussions with Watersmeet and Marenisco townships regarding how PILT funds are distributed. The acronym PILT stands for “payment in lieu of taxes,” and representatives of the two townships approached commissioners with their related frustration in what they view as unfair allotments. According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, “Payments in Lieu of Taxes are federal payments that help local governm...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — Members of the Downtown Development Authority continued a debate at an April 10 meeting as to whether to release a city lot to support a local business or to retain the land for possible future development. The discussion related to a letter of request from James Thull dated Nov. 16, 2023. Action on Thull’s request has been tabled since that time. Thull said in the letter that he now owns a building at 119 E. Sellar St. that he uses to rent apartments. His request was to purchase the adj...
By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] IRONWOOD – The Pat O'Donnell Civic Center hosted a health fair on Tuesday where people gathered to learn about health resources in their community. A collaborative effort by the Western U.P. Health Department, Michigan State University-Extension and the Upper Peninsula Health Plan, more than 40 organizations were represented, bringing with them activities for the entire family. The event combined the health fair aspect with a family fun night, said MSU-Ext...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] HURLEY — Two new faces joined the Hurley City Council on Tuesday as members took their oath of office from Clerk/Treasurer Stacey Wiercinski in a reorganizational meeting. Logan Dahlbacka and Joseph Kasper were newly elected on April 2 when the following incumbents were also re-elected: Jamey Francis, Rita Franzoi, Robert Lanctoe and Stephanie Innes. Joanne Bruneau was also re-elected as mayor. Seven persons had run for the six at-large council seats. Former Councilman Joseph Pinardi lost his seat by g...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners voted last week to appoint Peter Tacconelli of Bessemer and Whitney Vernetti of Ironwood to 3-year terms on the Board of Directors of the county’s Community Mental Health Authority in Wakefield. The board also voted to reappoint three incumbents to the board: Joseph Bonovetz of Bessemer, who also is a county commissioner; Carrie Braspenick of Wakefield; and Patricia Crabtree of Ironwood. Bonovetz abstained on the otherwise unanimous vote. The act...
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] HURLEY - A canvass of the April 2 election in Iron County by the county's Board of Canvass on Monday morning showed no problems, according to county officials. Board members included interim County Clerk Christan Brandt, Deputy Clerk Kathy Brauer and Clara Maki. Besides being the statewide presidential primary, the ballot also offered voters races for many local county, city, town and school board seats. A school bond referendum in Mercer was also...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — The Bessemer City Council voted on Monday evening to approve a request by Jeremy Johnson and Melissa Anderson to purchase city property on the corner of Mine Street and First Avenue for $1 with the understanding that construction of a home must commence within a year. The vote included the understanding that Johnson and Anderson must submit a related site plan, as requested by Mayor Peter Tacconelli. City Councilman Adam Zak also requested that the agreement include the caveat that “any major d...
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] IRONWOOD - The Ironwood City Commission once again approved another Rural Development pay package for ongoing work on Phase 1 of the a new water treatment facility at its meeting Monday evening. City Manager Paul Anderson said the concrete wall pours are complete and contractor CD Smith Construction is now working on precast ceiling slabs. He said roofing will be going on in May and June and then interior plumbing and mechanical work will happen...
IRONWOOD — The Ironwood Area Schools is asking voters in the school district to renew its operating millage at a special election on May 7. Superintendent Travis Powell said the millage rate of 18 mills, or $18 per every $1,000 of taxable valuation, is a renewal of the millage that will expire this year. “The passing of the Operating Millage Renewal Proposal on May 7 will not affect or impact taxes on primary residences in the Ironwood Area School District,” Powell said in a release. “Therefore, your yearly taxes will be very close to 2024. T...
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By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] HURLEY — The start of Hurley’s U.S. 51 utility reconstruction project is now less than three weeks away as remaining snow quickly melts. “We should start the job on the 29th,” said Scott Santini, Hurley’s Public Works Director, at a Tuesday evening meeting of the Hurley City Council. He added that the city is already preparing for the work. “We’re figuring out some of the sewer issues,” said Santini. “We’re cameraing those, getting things set up so we don’t have any setbacks when they start later this...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — Members of the Bessemer City Council voted on Monday evening to table the posting of the city manager opening until their next meeting on April 22. Council members agreed on most aspects of the post but decided that they need more time to research how to phrase the rate of pay. Interim City Manager Mandy Lake provided a refined version of the posting, which includes photos of the Bessemer area, along with updated statistics. “What I did do is revamp the characteristics we’re looking for in a...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD — Members of the Wakefield Chamber of Commerce may need to start paying nominal rent for their location at the Wakefield Visitors’ and Information Center. That was the conclusion of a Monday evening discussion by the Wakefield City Council. From about mid-May to October each year, the chamber uses the visitors’ center, which is next to Sunday Lake and the public deck that features the Chippewa Indian statue known as Nee-gaw-nee-gaw-bow. “The property is the city’s,” said City Manager Robert Brow...
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LANSING - As part of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' Deer Management Initiative process, several members of the group have collaborated with a social scientist from the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University to craft a questionnaire for the public, aimed at assessing people's opinions and perceptions about deer. The initiative, established earlier this year, is working to address current and future deer-related challenges facing the DNR and the Michigan...
While Mercer voters approved a school bond proposal, several incumbents in various local races across Iron County lost in Tuesday's election. The Mercer School District asked voters to approve a bond proposal to raise $800,000 a year beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, through the 2028-2029 school year for maintaining operations, programs and facilities. The measure passed 455 to 286, or 61% to 39%. A similar proposal failed last year 393-365 (52%-48%). Also in Mercer, Tanner Hiller...
IRONWOOD — With the site of this year’s Gogebic County Fair confirmed at the Pat O’Donnell Civic Center in Ironwood, members of the county fair board discussed admission and scheduling at their Monday evening meeting. “It’s all tentative,” said Fair Board member Linda Nelson. Although Fair Board members agreed that this year’s location makes an admission fee impractical, Nelson said, “I’d like to make sure that we have donation cans.” She also said that a bundle ticket for carnival rides could be sold as $15 in advance or $20 upon arrival. N...
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BESSEMER — A question of whether or not to allot funds to the Gogebic County Council of Veterans Affairs has created a difference of opinions among governmental entities in Gogebic County. The issue was discussed at the March 27 meeting of the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners and has been scheduled for the next meeting’s agenda, as well. The commissioners’ discussion arose after learning that the city of Ironwood had informed the CVA that it will not pay its current requested allotment of $8,517. The 2024 budget for the CVA is $67,7...
